Plants and Animals
by Obviously Insane
Summary: An unfamiliar looking boy sat in the corner, looking sullen and withdrawn. He was staring down at his sneakers, knuckles gripping the couch cushions with an unyielding intensity. Seaweed walked closer to him, slowly, as if he were a dangerous animal.
1. Goldfish

Plants And Animals

Chapter One: Goldfish

* * *

Seaweed rocked back and forth on his heels, bobbing his head a little to the music. His mother was having another one of her parties—the loud music, the loud people, the loud everything. It wasn't that he didn't like them. On the contrary, he lived for them. Dancing around like a maniac, seeing Maybelle's friends—it was the most exciting thing in the ten-year-old's life. But Maybelle's parties tended to give people a headache after awhile. Especially when she invited her best friend, Essie Sanders. That woman's voice could be heard from Chicago, Seaweed was sure of it.

An unfamiliar looking boy sat in the corner, looking sullen and withdrawn. He was staring down at his sneakers, knuckles gripping the couch cushions with an unyielding intensity. Seaweed walked closer to him, slowly, as if he were a dangerous animal.

The boy looked up and saw Seaweed approaching. He scowled at him. "What you want?"

Seaweed was taken aback by the other boy's tone, but he flashed him a confident smile nonetheless. "I'm Seaweed. Seaweed J. Stubbs. What's your name?"

The other boy stared at Seaweed for what felt like a long time, his eyes piercing holes in the dancer's head. "Johnny Sanders," he grunted, looking down at the ground once again. Seaweed didn't move, even though his mind was screaming at him to walk away. He just folded his arms across his chest, hoping to start a conversation. Maybe this Johnny guy wasn't as strange as he appeared.

"So, Essie's your mom?" Seaweed asked, raising his eyebrows. "I didn't know she had any kids. She's not married, or anything."

Johnny sighed. "Essie's my aunt. I'm living with her now."

"Why're you living with her?"

Johnny looked up at him, and he appeared to be on the verge of tears. It was obvious he was trying to fight them. He glared at Seaweed, trying to look intimidating, but he ended up looking like a goldfish.

"None of your business, that's why," Johnny muttered.

"Oh," Seaweed breathed, biting his lower lip. "Well…maybe, you know, you could play with me and my friends sometime?" Maybelle had always taught him to include others, even if he didn't like them. If there was one thing that Maybelle didn't like, it was exclusion.

"We're always a person short for basketball," he continued. "And you look pretty tall. Do you play?"

Johnny's expression didn't change as he nodded his head. But, when he spoke again, his voice was much harder than it had been before. "But I don't wanna play with you."

There was an awkward silence. Seaweed could feel his cheeks growing hot with embarrassment, although he wasn't sure why he felt that way. Without another word, Seaweed turned around and walked back to the crowd.

Little did he know, he had just met the boy that would soon make his life miserable.


	2. Crab

Plants And Animals

Chapter Two: Giraffes

Dribbling the basketball down the court, Seaweed pushed his feet to run as fast as they could. The other boys ran after him, hot on his heels, reaching for the ball over his shoulder. Heavy breaths filled the morning air as Seaweed jumped on his left foot and launched the ball at the backboard. The satisfying swish that came afterwards caused his teammates to cheer and slap his back in congratulations. A joyful grin was plastered on Seaweed's face as he raced after the boy that had caught the rebound.

Johnny walked towards the group, feet shuffling across the bumpy concrete of the sidewalk. He grimaced as he saw the basketball game that was taking place at the court across the street. All of the players were sloppy; heads hung down, fumbles left and right, constant air balls. If he was in the mood, he would've showed them a thing or two. But he had better things to do with his time, honestly. He wouldn't waste his time teaching these idiots about the game.

"Over here!" Seaweed roared to one of his teammates. They bounce-passed the ball over to him, and he caught it firmly in his hands. Seconds later, he was at the three-point line. He tossed the ball towards the basket in a seemingly effortless way.

"Nothin' but net," Johnny observed under his breath as Seaweed's teammates shouted their approval. He subconsciously shambled over to the court and rested his head against the metal cage that encased the giant rectangle. Seaweed's team had yet again scored another point, and their opponents' shoulders were hunched over in disappointment.

"Break," one of the guys on the other team huffed, clutching his leg. "I have to take a break."

Everyone nodded in agreement, and Seaweed dropped the ball to the ground in frustration. He had been on his way to the basket, and Johnny guessed that he was confident he'd make it. Of course, why wouldn't he be confident? He'd sunk every shot. While Seaweed was resting against a pole, a bunch of the other guys were huddled around nearby. They were whispering fervently at each other, until one of them finally walked towards Seaweed and pulled him into the circle. Moments later, a boy emerged from the cluster, leaning against Seaweed. He was limping on his right leg, and pain was etched across his face.

"Your momma's home, right Chris?" Seaweed asked the boy as they passed by Johnny. Chris nodded his head, biting his lip to keep from crying. His ankle looked swollen already, and Johnny cringed. He'd broken his ankle a couple of years, and he knew how it had felt.

"Hey, man!" One of the other guys was waving his hand in front of Johnny's face. Johnny scowled at him in annoyance.

"What?" he barked, narrowing his eyes. "What do you want?"

The hand-waving stopped, and the boy looked a little taken aback. "Hey, man, relax. You new in town?"

"Yeah."

"Figures," the boy said, slapping his own chest. "'Cuz then you'd know to treat me with respect."

"Who're you?" Johnny asked, and a couple of the boys laughed.

The boy looked down at him, wrinkling his nose. "The name's Crab. What's yours?"

Crab didn't seem too menacing; Johnny figured he was just some loudmouth that thought he was all that. "My name's Johnny."

"Nice," Crab said. "So, Johnny, you game?"

"Huh?"

Crab rolled his eyes, shaking his head. "Do…you…want…to…play?"

Johnny smashed his lips together in anger, furrowing his eyebrows. "Why'd I wanna play with you?"

"'Cuz you just standin' there like you bored, or somethin'," Crab said, looking confused. "And we're missin' a guy, since Chris is out. You in?"

Johnny shrugged. "I dunno. Is Seaweed playin'?"

"What you mean?" Crab laughed in his face. "'Course Seaweed's playin'. Bad thing for us though, 'cuz we ain't on his team. He's the best player in Baltimore."

It was Johnny's turn to laugh. "Yeah, sure he is."

Crab, whose voice was getting louder every second, glowered. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I'm just sayin'," Johnny said, folding his arms across his chest smugly. "He ain't the best when I'm 'round."

All the boys let out a booming 'Oh!', and Crab looked offended. "Hey, don't be dissin' my man like that. He got skills."

"Yeah?" Johnny said, cracking his knuckles. "I'll be the judge of that." He knew that he was wasting his time with these panty-waists, but he might as well play. What else was he supposed to do on a Sunday morning? Help his aunt with the laundry?

Seaweed approached the courts with a morose look on his face, and Johnny raised his eyebrows at the young boy.

"Hey, how's Chris?" Crab shouted at his best friend, and Seaweed stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"They took him to the hospital, man," Seaweed told them. "His momma said his ankle was probably just sprained."

"He shouldn't have jumped for that rebound," Crab said. "He landed on his foot all funny."

Johnny shrugged. "So, we gonna play the game, or not? 'Cuz, I don't know 'bout all you, but I got plans."

Seaweed scowled. "He's playin'?"

Crab nodded his head, although he looked particularly let down. "Someone's gotta sub for Chris. We're already short a couple people as it is, Seaweed."

"Fine," Seaweed huffed. "What team do you wanna be on?"

Johnny knew he didn't want to be on the same team as Seaweed; how could he show him up if he was helping him win? "I'll be on Crab's team."

"Okay," Seaweed said, catching the ball in his hands. "Let's go."


End file.
